Much to the chagrin of the rest of the Big Sky and Bozeman, MT ... the Grizzlies are once again dancing in the NCAA Tournament. After winning the conference tournament by downing Weber State 67-64 in the championship game.
The Grizzlies got a 13 seed from the NCAA Selection Committee and they'll face off against No. 4 seed of Syracuse. The Orange are ranked 19th in the nation after falling to No. 4 ranked Louisville in the Big East Championship Game.
This is Montana's third NCAA Tournament appearance in four years (Way to give them a challenge, Big Sky) and you might remember that in 2006 they upset Nevada in the Big Dance, 87-79.
That being said, you might remember the Big East being absolutely ridiculous this year. I mean, I know the conference is dissolving with their football/basketball schools, but that didn't stop them from getting 8 teams invited to the tournament. Syracuse reached the championship game in the Big East Tournament before losing to an NCAA No. 1 seed, and have six wins over ranked opponents.
The Griz obviously play in the Big Sky which neither have ranked opponents nor NCAA No. 1 seeds. While I'm sure Montana can play one another, I'm not exactly sure you want to take the Grizzlies for the upset special. You just can't beat Syracuse's NCAA Tournament pedigree.
I need a drink. A big drink. I couldn't stomach my Eagles' loss to Montana last night after they had a commanding lead, blew it before halftime, played close the entire second half and fell at the end. It doesn't help anything that it was to the loathsome Montana Grizzlies and that it was in the Griz's home arena. Bottoms up! Here's Dave Cook with the skinny on the game...
It was déjà vu.
Montana overcame an 11-point lead by Eastern Washington University and pulled away in the final 1:45 for a 74-66 victory Tuesday (March 6) in the semifinals of the Big Sky Conference Men’s Basketball Championship in Missoula, Mont.
The Grizzlies advance to face Weber State in the championship game Wednesday (March 7) at 6 p.m. Pacific time and televised on ESPN2. The Wildcats trailed Portland State for 36 minutes in Tuesday’s other semifinal, but the Wildcats rallied for a 69-63 victory behind the 22 points of NBA prospect Damian Lillard.
Eastern’s season ended with a 15-17 record. The last time Eastern met the Grizzlies in Missoula, Eastern let a nine-point second half lead slip through their hands in a 79-71 loss.
“We came into an extremely tough venue and gave them all they could handle,” said first-year Eastern head coach Jim Hayford. “It was a great basketball game and I was very proud of the way our team played. We did a fantastic job to hold them to 40 percent shooting, including 23 percent from three. We just fouled a little too much. We played a complete game and I’m really, really proud.”
And for your Eagle fans that thought I had gone soft after moving to Montana. Lets just saw I was a bit mad last night. Look at this string of Facebook status updates I put together
"Difference between EWU and UM... drive outside of Cheney for 15 minutes and you're in the second biggest city in Washington State. Drive outside of Missoula for 15 minutes and you're kidnapped by the Unabomber. #Icantstandlosingtothegriz"
"Things I don't like 1. The Griz. 2. People posting photos of their toddlers in Griz gear on Facebook. 3. Memes about the Griz or Memes in general. 4. The fact that Griz fans are so uneducated they can't figure out what Big Sky Co-champions means in football."
"For the record, Bozeman is a way better college town than Missoula."
"And Monte is a hack."
And for the kicker, here's what my apartment looked like after the EWU loss...
It was the greatest moment in the history of the sporting world that I have ever had.
When I first heard that Eastern was putting in red turf I hoped I could be at the first game there. When I heard that the Eagles would be playing the rival Montana Grizzlies I knew I HAD to be there.
And there I was.
Our seats were in the front row of the endzone. I was so close that on the FIRST ever Eastern touchdown on the red turf of Roos Field I was right there. And on every replay.
I get a text from Brandon, "I just saw you on TV! You're part of Eastern history now! Every replay shows you!"
Here's the only video I could find of the touchdown. No Spokane station had it on their sites. Nice work Spokane media. Nice work.
Fast forward to 2:05. I'm the guy in the number 8 Eastern jersey jumping and screaming.
Where we were sitting we were surrounded by Montana fans. And I knew that I didn't like the Griz, but I must say that they have some of the most annoying fans I have ever met. From the drunk woman next to me who kept yelling "You're turf is pink! You're turf is pink!" to the guy who kept trying to rhyme insults with Inferno (the nickname of the red turf). He came up with such things as "Craperno." "Suckiterno." and even "Grizerno." Yeah, his IQ was off the charts.
As for the game the Eagles won. Staked claim to their new red turf. Introduced Roos Field the correct way with a win. And beat the hated Grizzlies for the first time in Cheney since 1991. That loss also was the first back-to-back losses in the regular season since 2002 for the Griz. Now Montana will only be able to watch as Eastern is sitting pretty for the rest of the Big Sky season.
At the end of the game, Montana had tried to lateral for a miracle. Once the play ended everyone stormed the field. We jumped on the Eagle logo in the middle of the field and chanted "Roos! Roos! Roos!" I'd seen other university students around the nation be able to rush the fields of their schools but never thought I'd be able to be a part of it. Until last night.
The fans on the field got an unsportsmanlike conduct call which gave Montana another play. The cocky Griz fans still had something to talk about. Until the play happened. This play resulted in their quarterback getting killed and coughing up the ball. The defense scooped up the ball and scored for a final of 36-27.
Griz nation was stunned.
The fans rushed the field again.
It was everything that sports is meant to be. Two teams putting their hearts and souls into a game. One team winning. And history being made.
I'm glad I got to be a part of that history. Eastern Eagles!
It's Shark Week on the Discovery Channel. That means lots of programs about sharks.
Now I enjoy shark week, but we at Just South of North have been thinking about other things that we could do to rival shark week. Here's what we've come up with:
- Grizzly Week: Big. Scary. Bears. Yep, you have my attention.
- Squirrel Week: Funny little creatures that are crazy. Plus, I say we have a "squirrel cam" that is attached to a squirrel. Could you imagine the footage?!?! Awesome.
- Tree Week: And we could feature Arbor Daze. The joke movie mocked up by Tim Allen. Hilarious. Plus, Brandon has a bumper sticker that says "Hug a Logger. You'll never go back to trees." So we could make him the Grand Marshall of the shows.
- Bacon Week: Who doesn't love bacon? Well, besides pigs. Wait, I think even they like it. Isn't that some form of cannibalism?
- Brandon Week: A week dedicated to Brandon. Ok, now that no one would watch. Bazinga!
Better yet, I just thought of the best week ever!
- Bear Week: This would be everything bear! Grizzly bears, polar bears, black bears, care bares, yogi bear, Bear Grylls, everything! And we'd of course have the Barenaked Ladies be the honorary band of the event. Are they still around?
Montana will play the University of Tennessee next season and play potentially in front of the biggest crowd in school history. They'll also receive a nice big fat paycheck for their time.
While the Griz probably wont win this game and it shows you just how college athletics works (read: money), I applaud Montana for actually scheduling somebody tough in their non-conference schedule.
Coming from Eastern, I watched my Eagles play plenty of play-up (FCS to FBS) games because we're a poor school and we need the money. It's honestly nothing to be proud of since it would usually hurt our record and we'd always start Big Sky play with two losses on our record right out of the gate. However, I'd always use that as ammo when talking to Montana fans since it seemed they'd schedule the "North Dakota school for the kids that are really talented" and "North South East West Canada University" for their pre-conf. schedule.
Montana Griz fans take a weird sense of pride in their women's basketball team. Not like "hey! this team is good", more like "hey! check out these photos I took of our starting point guard!" Because they're in Montana, and there's nothing to do and a goat wasn't readily avaliable. Oh, and the 17 school appearances in the NCAA tournament MIGHT have a little something to do about that.
Well seems that the gem in the Montana crown is a little tarnished. The awesome (and I do mean one of the best teams in the country) Gonzaga women's basketball team defeated the Lady Griz 75-48, much to my delight. It was a double digit lead at halftime and it turned into a blowout in the second half.
You have no idea how warm that makes my heart feel right now :D
Despite the fact that there was no Eastern Washington football today, the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs are still going on. And there was some crazy games.
These two teams have won the last four FCS titles. Appalachian State claimed the crown in 2005, 2006 and 2007. In 2008 the Richmond Spiders beat Montana.
Two powerhouses, only one could advance this year. And they didn't disappoint.
Richmond scored first with a touchdown. Appalachian State answered back with one of their own. Richmond eventually spread their lead to 24-14 in the early 4th quarter.
Appalachian State would come back with 14 unanswered to go up 28-24 with 4:27 remaining in the game.
But Richmond proved why they were the champs last year as they fought back to take the lead 31-28 with just 3:26 to go.
But sadly for the Spiders that was 3:16 too long.
The Mountaineers of Appalachian State stormed down the field and capped a 70 yard drive with a 4 yard touchdown pass from Armanti Edwards to Matt Cline. After an extra point, Appalachian State lead 35-31. And that's where the score remained. It was an amazing finish.
But this means that there will be no repeat champion this year. Someone new will emerge for the 2009 season. Here's the scores from the other three games:
Montana - 51 Stephen F. Austin - 0
William & Mary - 24 Southern Illinois - 3
Villanova - 46 New Hampshire -7
Needless to say, these other three games were less than close and were pretty much poundings. Nothing worth reporting other than they weren't even close.
As we at JustSON continue to provide you with pregame coverage of today's match-up between the Eastern Washington Eagles and the Montana Grizzlies, here's a look at each of these of schools and who wins head to head:
Mascots
UM: Monte - Yes, he has a bike. That is cool.
EWU: Swoop- But you want to know what is even cooler? Flying. Yeah, Swoop can fly.
EWU 1, UM 0
Campus
EWU: Located in Cheney, Washington, the campus is a pristine example of beauty. UM: Located in Missoula, MT the campus is, well...just look.
EWU 2, UM 0
Fans
EWU: While it may be nontraditional, their nothing short of creative.
UM: It snows in Montana. Every month but August. There are two seasons there, summer and snow. Welcome to Montana.
EWU 3, UM 0
Logo
EWU: The Eagle incorporates the E-W-U of the school. It is classy and stylish.
UM: While searching for the Griz logo, I found this. Hilarious. A guy riding a bear.
EWU 4, UM 0
GOOGLE
EWU: Google Eastern Washington and this is the first photo. Beautiful!
UM: Google Montana. This is the 4th photo. Oh, I'm telling all my friends.
(Thinks about intense hatred for Montana Grizzlies and all things in that state)
(Thinks about how the EWU Eagles can't make the post-season next year)
(Thinks about last year's Governor's Cup disaster)
Oh Goodie. This definitely gives me some ammo as an EWU fan.
Economic development officials in Hardin are looking at the soon-to-close detention facility in Guantanamo Bay as a possible fix for the jail sitting empty in Hardin.
President Barack Obama signed an executive order Jan. 22 to close the Guantanamo detention facilities in Cuba where hundreds of enemy combatants have been held since 2002. The closure is to occur in a year, during which time remaining detainees must be returned to their home countries or detained elsewhere.
Meanwhile, a 460-bed detention facility sits empty in Hardin. Built by Two Rivers Authority, the city's economic development arm, the facility was meant to bring economic development to Hardin by creating more than 100 high-paying jobs.
While leaders continue to look for contracts to open the jail, which was completed in 2007, people in Hardin have approached Two Rivers executive director Greg Smith saying they have the answer: Get the contract to hold those prisoners from Guantanamo.
Signs that your state sucks... you need a prison to revive the economy. Ladies and Gentlemen... the state of Montana!
The Griz will keep their head football coach for at least another season. Bobby Hauck has agreed to a new one-year contract to coach the UM football team.
It's pretty amazing how his contract is broken down: Hauck's new contract calls for a base salary of $144,500. In addition, it increases the pool for assistant coaches by $16,500. Also, the pact calls for an additional $40,000 for television and radio coach's show appearances; a country club membership; and $500 per month for a car stipend. Additional income comes in the form of camps and/or clinics, as well as annual performance incentives.
The best part are all the incentives. Look at how random some of the bonuses are:
- $5,000 for achieving a team GPA for the previous three academicyears of 2.85 or higher;- $5,000 for maintaining a four-year average academic progressrate score of at least 950;- $5,000 for maintaining season attendance;- $5,000 for attending requested UM Athletics and GrizzlyScholarship Association functions;- $7,500 for being named Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year;- $5,000 for defeating a FCS team during non-conference seasonthat has been a qualifier in the FCS playoffs within the past twoyears;- $5,000 for finishing the season as Big Sky champs or co-champs,or qualifying for the NCAA football playoffs;- $2,500 for each victory in the FCS playoffs;- $30,000 for winning the FCS championship.
The Bengals softball team beat the defending MAC Champions Kent State, 6-4 on the 14th. ISU scored 6 runs in the first two innings and never looked back. The win was their second of the season.
Yet one day later the Bengals fell 10-1 at Arizona State. ASU is the defending National Champions, and they played like it. This season ASU is ranked #3.
Tomorrow and Saturday, the women's gymnastics team will host Temple for a pair of matches. The Seawolves are still looking for their first win of the season.
On the ice, four members of the hockey team earned the 2008-2009 WCHA Scholar-Athlete Award. To earn recognition as a WCHA Scholar-Athlete, a student-athlete must have completed at least one year of residency at his or her present institution prior to the current academic year and must also have a GPA of at least 3.50 on a 4.0 scale for the previous two semesters, or may qualify if their overall GPA is at least 3.50 for all terms at their present institution.
ESPN 700 AM in Spokane had recently changed up their format, combining two of their afternoon talk shows into one super-epic show with roughly 12 guys on the air at the same time entitled "Dennis Patchin and the Wingmen" which has a snazzy Top-Gun logo.
And while I would venture to guess that this was because of budget concerns, meshing "Bud and the Wingmen" with "The Dennis Patchin" show has produced an interesting and pretty engaging show. It honestly seems like the guys are having fun on the air and not forcing the "wacky morning DJ whoaaaaaaah" stick.
Now you're probably asking why I'm showing a photo of the Idaho Vandals football team, shirtless. Well, ladies and gentlemen, that's because Moscow Idaho is apparently the center of the football universe.
And I didn't realize it until the guys at Patchin and the Wingmen pointed this out. Let me explain the two reasons why the Vandals are the backbone of football in America.
1. Tom Cable, the former head coach for the Idaho Vandals is now the head coach of the NFL's Oakland Raiders. Granted being head coach of the Raiders is like choosing a movie during a romantic date with your girlfriend - you don't really have a choice. Thanks Al Davis.
2. Patchin and the Wingmen pointed out that seven out of the ten assistant coaches on the Washington Huskies football team either played football or coached football at Idaho.
(Okay this isn't really connected, but you can now download your own UW head coach Steve Sarkisian desktop background. WHOOP DEE DOOO!!!)
I think that those reasons are pretty concrete :D, but you can tell me that I'm wrong in the comment bar.
MONTANA UPDATE
You know what, these guys really stink. I hate them. I'm not updating them. UM? They're good in men and women's basketball this year. Nuff said. Now go get a job.
Tonight the Lady Griz take on Portland State, at PSU, for claim of the top of the Big Sky. Both teams are 6-0 in conference games. With Montana being 17-3 overall, and Portland State is 13-6. It's a winner take all game at a big time in the season. The game starts 7 p.m. Pacific and can be watched online at www.bigskytv.org.
On the men's side PSU is visiting Montana tonight. The Griz currently sit in 3rd in the Big Sky, having beat Northern Colorado 68-59 on 1/25. The men Vikings also are in 1st place, and the Griz could really use a home win.
Indoor track will be in Bozeman on Friday for the Montana State Dual Invitational. Montana will be going against MSU and Idaho State.
The men's team has slid to 6th in the Big Sky after back-to-back losses. At the hands of Northern Colorado the Bears had their way with the Bobcats, 55-65. After that, MSU traveled down to Southern Mississippi, only to loose 60-68. Tonight they host Eastern Washington. The Eagles currently sit in 7th in the Conference and are looking to get their season back on track. A win tonight for the Bobcats would be huge.
Tonight ISU will be trying to "white out" their arena as the Weber Wildcats come into town. The Bengals have a slight hold on the 4 spot in the Conference, but Northern Colorado is nipping at their heels. But Weber State won't be overlooked. The Wildcats are currently tied with PSU for first in the Big Sky. ISU needs a win tonight at home to keep pace with the Bears.
While ISU is trying to white out their gym, U of I is trying to "black out" theirs. Tonight the Vandals take on Boise State. The Vandals are flying high after winning the rematch with New Mexico State 67-57. UI currently sit in 4th in the WAC, one spot behind the visiting Boise State. A win tonight would help close the gap between the two. Idaho is 3-3 in conference, while Boise State is 5-2.
The indoor track teams will be heading to Pullman on Friday and Saturday for the Washington State Cougar Invitational.
The gymnasitics team heads to Colorado this week. The 0-4 squad is searching for their first win of the season. 1/31 will see them in Denver, 2/1 the squad goes Colorado Springs to take on Air Force.
In men's basketball, the Seawolves lost at Billings, MT to Montana State - Billings 60-69. Seniors Jeremiah Trueman and Kenny Barker combined for 37 points. But a late 2nd half push by the Yellowjackets proved to much for UAA.
Since I collect a bunch of stuff that nobody ever really needs, I decided that I wanted an Eastern Washington University mini football helmet. You know, those cool little helmets that every person at Fox Sports Network has on their desks.
Only one problem. Despite my impressive Google ability, no such item exists. I found helmets for the Montana Grizzlies and even the Montana State Bobcats. (They still play football in Bozeman?) I guess they suit up a team anyway.
Probably wearing those mini helmets.
Heck, even the North Dakota State Bison get a mini helmet. And yes, that is a Louisiana Tech helmet in the picture above. Lame.
Anyway, sad day. I guess now I need to find some EWU stickers and paint my own helmet.
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